Israel, the Church and the Middle East

Recently I finished a book called Israel, The Church and the Middle East edited by Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser. Like a previous book, Messiah in the Passover, that I reviewed this one was written by Chosen People Ministries. However, unlike the last book, this one is about the on-going conflict in the middle east and challenges our understanding of Replacement Theology or supercessionist themes that is prevalent in our churches today. 

Many folks that I have met in my ministry, both in person and online believe that God no longer has a plan for the Jewish people. Most recently, my heart was broken to hear someone who stated they loved Jesus would “rather talk with a muslim terrorist than a God-forsaken Jew.” This book, this book addresses those thoughts. 

In order to give a review for this book, I had to take more than my average thirty days in reading it because there is a lot to digest in this book and honestly, not everyone is going to love this book—matter of fact, the dispensational views contained in this book will not set well with many in the modern church. 

So what is this book? It’s compilation of 13 essays written by scholars covering topics that can easily be summed up as:

1. Biblical Foundations

2. Theology and The Conflict

3. Yeshua (Jesus) in the Midst of Crisis

4. Current Challenges to Peace in Israel

Each one of these essays are written in a way that will help you understand why it’s imperative that as Christians we support Israel and can’t see ourselves as the replacement of the People of God—the Jews. 

Even if you disagree with this book, you will definitely be able to state that this was written in a way that definitely makes you think about Israel from God’s stand point. As Dr. Darrell Bock states in the conclusion ”Anyone reading the chapters in this book immediately senses the web of complexities the region presents. Multiple millennia of conflicts and proposed solutions will certainly not be reversed overnight. With so many faiths present, establishing productive and irenic dialogue, as well as trust, is a significant challenge. Because violence is so often an act of first resort peaceful solutions have proven to be elusive. Nevertheless, it is the conviction of the authors of these chapters that there is a way forward--which begins with a deeper understanding of the role of Israel in God's plan" (loc 5994). 

I was provided this book for free by Kregel Publications for an honest and objective review.